Birthday Wish
by HungarysGotAFryingPan
Summary: It's Antonio's birthday! but, one of the guests never shows up, and, this year, Antonio is determined to change that. my first fanfic. written for Antonio's birthday (Feb. 12)


**A/N:** woo-hoo! here it is: my fanfiction debut. happy birthday, Antonio!  
I apologize for the lack of proper spacing during dialogue, etc. this is a spur-of-the-moment, un-beta-read, and probably crappy attempt at fanfiction, but I hope you can enjoy it all the same. :D  
I do not own Hetalia, nor any of the characters (including Finny, unfortunately...)

Antonio loved his birthday. It was one of his favorite days of the year, when all of his friends (and a few who were only there for the free cake) came over, faces happy and glowing. Antonio loved the gifts, the smiling faces, and, of course, the party that Francis and Gilbert threw for him every year. This year, money was tight, but they managed to make it a fairly extravagant occasion without exceeding Antonio's budget (too much, anyway…) It was almost perfect. Almost. Looking over the last-minute preparations and list of people who had RSVP'd, a tiny frown crossed Antonio's consistently smiling face. Every year, there was one person missing. This same person was invited every year, and every year he was the only one not in attendance. However, Antonio was determined that this year would be different. This year, he would hand-deliver the invitation, and either Romano would come to the party, or Antonio would be celebrating in Italy.

Romano stared blankly out his window, cursing the bright, sunshiny day. Days like this always reminded him of a certain Spaniard, all cheery, sunshiny light. Sometimes, he genuinely had a hard time telling himself that Antonio only hung out with him for the connection to his grandfather. That was the only reason anyone ever spent time around the moody Italian of their own accord. Lovinio was relatively outgoing, cared infinitely about those he loved, was kind to most people, but only a very few knew him. Romano knew that only a select few could see the person the façade hid. Antonio was one of them, and that scared him. He struggled so much with opening up to anyone. Occasionally, his brother could get through to him, but not many people were in touch with, or had ever seen for that matter, the Lovinio under the façade. He had trusted before, and it never ended well. People never cared about _him_; it was always about his grandfather or brother. Feliciano was the 'good kid', the model child, the perfection that the world bowed to. He had a good job, a successful boyfriend, was friends with _everyone_; seriously, that kid never met a person he couldn't get along with. Lovinio lived in his shadow, probably always will. His parents and family didn't mean to subordinate him to his twin, but the fact stood that Lovinio was inferior to his outgoing, good-looking, successful brother. After a while, he got used to it, learned not to hold it against them. He instead retreated into a shell, building walls between himself and the rest of the world, keeping everyone at arm's length or, preferably, further away. As the years passed, the wall grew taller and stronger, and was breached less and less often by anyone, even his family. However, occasionally someone came along and found a chink, the tiniest hairline crack. Most of the time, Lovinio would catch it before they did anything about it, hastily patching the weak spot. But, for some reason, Antonio had taken him by surprise, tapping away at the crack, making it larger and more vulnerable all the time. And, for some strange reason, Lovinio did not object. Oh, of course he treated the intrusive Spaniard just like everyone else, but there was a small part of him that welcomed the intrusion. That part of him was cheering Antonio on and the gape in the wall slowly grew until, occasionally, the façade would slip a bit, giving him a small glimpse at the lovely person that was Lovinio Vargas. Antonio, in true Spanish form, was not to be discouraged. He would always believe in the caring, gentle side that came out oh so rarely. He would never give up.

Lovinio sat there, contemplating this and that, mainly just killing time, for about an hour. Eventually, after the 7th time he checked his watch only to find that barely a minute had passed, and it was still only mid-morning, he sighed and began to pace. Today was Antonio's birthday, wasn't it? Yes, he was having that stupid party again. Lovinio had received an invitation, the only non-junk mail that he had received since the Spaniard's last correspondence. Feliciano preferred email, or just popping in unexpectedly. As little as he liked to admit it, Lovinio liked getting mail. It made him feel important, valued…loved. The Italian never went to the annual birthday bash, though. He wasn't willing to wear his heart even just that far out on his sleeve yet. He thought that, surely, there were plenty of people who simply couldn't make it. He wouldn't make that much difference.

Antonio stood outside of Lovinio's door, hesitating. It wasn't like him, but he was nervous. Antonio, contrary to popular belief, had not always had a rainbows-and-sunshine life. He grew up an only child, with highly successful and therefore busy parents. He devoted all of his time to his studies, and was seen as the 'perfect perfectionist' of the school. He grew accustomed to spending time alone early on, though certainly not by choice. However, his personality was naturally happy, and he re-established himself in college, with a new group of friends in a new country, and here he was now, happy and healthy and…still alone. Oh, he dated occasionally, but there were just no sparks. Until he met Lovinio, that is. So now, here he was, hesitating, but at the same time just as sure of himself as always. He knocked once, twice, and waited.

Lovinio heard the knock, but it took a moment to register. He was still caught up in his thoughts, and the sudden sound jerked him back to earth. He rose slowly and made his way to the door, frowning stubbornly. Antonio smiled as the door opened cautiously. He quickly placed his foot near the doorframe; just in case (he knew our dear Italian well). But today, Lovinio was too surprised to slam the door in the other man's face. In fact, he was so surprised that he just stuttered, "Well, are you coming in or what?" and opened the door completely. Antonio's smile grew as he stepped in and sat on the couch, making himself at home. Lovinio sat next to him hesitantly, not too close, but not very far away at all. "Um…well, the reason I'm here…um, I was, wondering, if you'd like to, I mean, not that you _have_ to, but, well, I would really appreciate it if you'd come to my birthday party! We're having it back at home and I have plane tickets to Spain for two." Lovinio blinked slowly. _Y-you really want me to come that much? You bought extra tickets, and came here, and-why? Why this year?_ He was quick to replace the façade, however, and retorted, "Why would I want to go?" oh no. not that, please. Don't do that. Antonio was-drum roll please-giving the saddest, most _adorable _puppy eyes ever seen. There was no way he could say no, so the Italian turned away and crossed his arma. Then Antonio added one weakness to another. "I got extra tomatoes, just for you~" shit. Did he _have _to be so damn annoying and so undeniably _adorable_?! Lovinio turned away slowly, gritting his teeth. There was no way out of this. He knew how stubborn the Spaniard could be. He would camp outside Lovinio's door if he had to. "Why'd you have to be an idiot and buy the stupid ticket before you even knew whether I was coming?!" he yelled. "But Lovi~" Antonio insisted. "I _did_ know that you were coming." Wait, he looked nervous all of a sudden. That was decidedly out of character for the upbeat, conficat Antonio most people knew. "At least…" his gaze dropped slightly, avoiding the Italian. "I hoped you would." Lovinio sighed. "Fine, I'll go with you. I'll go! Fine! New stop looking so damn pitiful." Antonio obeyed instantly, his entire face lighting up. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthan kyouthankyou!" he practically shouted, hugging a, for once, not-frowning Lovinio. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't let it go to your head." Antonio sat back down, a rare serious expression on his face. _Uh-oh,_ Lovinio thought. "Lovi…" the Spaniard began cautiously, knowing how touchy the other man could be. He tilted his head to one side and placed a hand on Loninio's face, smiling wistfully. "Why don't you come out more often?" After he recovered (It only took a few seconds, honestly!), he smacked the hand away half-heartedly. "What do you mean by that?" the unwavering smile became tinged with sadness. "I mean the part of you that doesn't hate me." Lovinio's eyes widened. He didn't really think that-did he? Ugh, he was going to have to say it. He simply couldn't stand knowing that the serious, _sad_ expression on that beautiful face was because of him. "I-" he cleared his throat. "I don't hate you, Antonio. I promise." He almost whispered. There was a spark of hope in the other's eyes, but he still looked doubtful. "Are you sure?" Lovinio nodded. "Why would I say it if I wasn't?" he snapped. Antonio smiled, a real smile this time, the one that reminded Lovinio of sunshine, it was so bright, and rose. "Well…I'll pick you up at 3:00 then? Be sure to pack everything you'll need and eat plenty of carbs and protein to avoid jet lag~" Lovinio rolled his eyes. Antonio just smiled as he stepped outside, pausing after the door closed to lean against the wall and sigh. Someday, someday he would tell him…but, for now, he was just glad the Lovinio would be there to celebrate his birthday.

Finally, after inspection and re-inspection of their passports, they were settled ofn the plane. Lovinio took the window seat, and Antonio didn't complain, so long as it would make him happy. However, he couldn't help envying the couple across the aisle. A tall man with blond hair and sharp blue eyes (he was rather intimidating) had his arm around a smaller man, who was sleeping soundly, snuggled up against his boyfriend. If he had been awake, Antonio would have noticed that he had large, endearing violet eyes, with a sad puppy expression just as effective as Antonio's. he watched them for a few seconds, but soon found it more enjoyable to gaze at the man sitting next to him. Lovinio was staring out the window, a thoughtful expression smoothing away the frown lines on his face. He looked so peaceful, serene. Eventually, however, he turned toward Antonio and muttered, "What are you looking at?" "You." He replied evenly. Awww. Lovi was so cute when he was blushing. Antonio bit his lip nervously. "Lovi…" the Italian sighed. "What?" "I…um, oh, n-nothing important…" Antonio shook his head, cursing his sudden shyness. He gave up on his resolve to tell Lovinio how he felt and took his hand nonchalantly, staring straight ahead. The Italian froze, eyes wide, but he made no move to withdraw his hand. They sat like that for a while, until Lovinio yawned and complained loudly that he was tired and this was boring. Antonio only smiled, but it was his turn to be shocked when Loninio rested his head on his shoulder and fell asleep comfortably, the tiniest of smiles gracing his features. Finally, Antonio grinned and placed his cheek atop the other's head, whispering, "Estoy enamorado de ti" and shaking his head gently. "Why, I don't know." As he closed his eyes, still smiling fondly, he didn't notice the smile that crossed Lovinio's face, lingering longer than one had in years. _"I love you, too, idiot."_

**A/N** TAA-DAAAA! there *phew* yes, random SuFin there at the end. they are one of my OTPs (along with Spamano) hope you guys enjoyed my first published fanfiction! It didn't turn out as fluffy as I thought it would :O oh, well, there'll be time for that later~! By the way, "Estoy enamorado de ti" means "I'm in love with you". nice, fluffy stuff :D  
until next time,  
peace,  
love,  
and PASTAAA!~


End file.
